keeping all kitchen surfaces and equipment clean, such as chopping boards and dish cloths

not drinking untreated water from lakes, rivers or streams

Listeria

Listeria can cause an infection called listeriosis. Although the infection is rare, even a mild form of listeriosis in a pregnant woman can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or severe illness in newborn babies.

Listeria can be found in unpasteurised milk and in many chilled foods, including:

pâté

mould-ripened soft cheeses and soft blue-veined cheeses

cooked sliced meats

smoked salmon

You can reduce your risk of listeriosis by:

not eating mould-ripened soft cheeses – such as brie, camembert, chèvre (a type of goats' cheese) and others with a similar rind

not eating soft blue-veined cheeses – such as danish blue, gorgonzola and roquefort

not eating pâté of any kind, including vegetable pâté

not drinking unpasteurised milk – only drink pasteurised or UHT milk

heating ready meals or reheated food until they're piping hot all the way through

making sure your fridge is set at 5C or below and working correctly

not using food after its "use by" date

eating food taken out of the fridge within four hours – after this time, it should be thrown away